About Robert Matthews

Robert Matthews, former professor of history and politics at New York University, has been researching US foreign policy for foreign policy centres in Spain for the past twenty-five years. He is a consultant on Afghanistan, Pakistan and US foreign policy for the Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre (NOREF) in Oslo.

To a large extent Petraeus, four star general and chief spy, was a political and media invention. Take a closer look at the Petraeus record and a spectre starts to appear: of just how blind love can be.

What US foreign policy should we expect if Romney was to win in
November? His statements during the campaign suggests adherence to his neocon
advisers' hard line stances on many topics, including hawkish positions on China, Iran and Russia. One week before the election, Commander-in-chief Romney
remains a mystery.

While some Americans think of firearms only in terms of sporting and hunting guns, many others believe weapons offer a measure of security in somehow allaying their fears of a changing - and in many respects declining - US society.

In the election after the terrorist atrocity of 11 March, Spains people rallied against government lies and bad anti-terrorist policies. An American scholar in Madrid compares the American reaction to 9/11 and asks whether his compatriots can learn from the Spanish example.